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Scarborough: Republicans only held the House because of gerrymandering

Scarborough admitted that he had made a “mistake” the past month talking about how Republicans had won a majority of the House. He also said that what Americans want more than compromise, at this moment, is a “vision” for the Republican party. “The vision that Republicans have to speak to the middle class concerns,” he said.

He noted it wasn’t “just about the debt” even though that was the issue that mattered to him most, personally and said the Republican party has been getting “smaller and smaller and smaller.”

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He also said that what Americans want more than compromise, at this moment, is a “vision” for the Republican party.

Does not jive with this:

He noted it wasn’t “just about the debt” even though that was the issue that mattered to him most, personally and said the Republican party has been getting “smaller and smaller and smaller.”

If you bring a large number of disparate groups with opposing political views who have nothing in common, you’re going to have a weakly united, fractious organization. If you want to have a uniting vision, you must have a common link between everyone in the party. Republicans can’t keep trying to bring more liberals into the party and expect to have a common and uniting vision.

Even with all non-gerrymandered, compact districts, the GOP would still almost certainly have a House majority due to all the “wasted” Dem votes in urban areas where they win 90% of the vote…

DavidW on January 21, 2013 at 11:25 AM

Agreed. Republicans are more evenly distributed geographically. In my state it would be almost impossible to draw a map where the Democrats win a majority of the seats in 55/45 districts. About 7 of them would have to have a piece of Philadelphia for that to happen. Gross gerrymandering would be required to compensate for the Democrats’ urban specialization.

There was some gerrymandering but Scarborough shouldn’t kid himself – if the Democrats were in control of things when the last census was completed they would have done the same thing. This is one instance where the GOP managed to keep up with the Dims.

Scarborough sucks. Even if his claim is true it’s only because American voters have put their trust in GOP-controlled state legislatures and GOP governors. If such gerrymandering occurred it’s because voters in those states supported it. So, however you choose to look at it, a GOP-controlled House is exactly what a majority of American voters want.

I don’t truck with Joe much, but the observation that we held the House thanks to Gerrymandering is not all wrong. Folks, we got our butts kicked in 2012.

You and Joe can argue why or how and make excuses and whine, but we were unable to turn out a lousy sitting President, we lost seats in the Senat when we thought we had a shot at taking a majority, and we lost seats in the House!

And now, Obama’s strategy to destroy the R party is working to perfection. We are turning on each other instead of him, and doing the dirty work for him. Stop saying the man is a light weight fool. He’s winning, were not.

And now, Obama’s strategy to destroy the R party is working to perfection. We are turning on each other instead of him, and doing the dirty work for him. Stop saying the man is a light weight fool. He’s winning, were not.

2ndMAW68 on January 21, 2013 at 12:16 PM

The inside the beltway leadership of the Republican Party is what’s destroying it. They are using Obama as an opportunity to purge the GOP of conservative influence. Which will lead to the party’s extinction because 40% of the country is conservative.

There was some gerrymandering but Scarborough shouldn’t kid himself – if the Democrats were in control of things when the last census was completed they would have done the same thing. This is one instance where the GOP managed to keep up with the Dims.
gwelf on January 21, 2013 at 11:47 AM

Scarborough sucks. Even if his claim is true it’s only because American voters have put their trust in GOP-controlled state legislatures and GOP governors. If such gerrymandering occurred it’s because voters in those states supported it. So, however you choose to look at it, a GOP-controlled House is exactly what a majority of American voters want.
cicerone on January 21, 2013 at 12:14 PM